Lliira
, | favored weapon = “Sparkle” (shuriken) | worshipers = Bards, dancers, entertainers, poets, revelers, singers | cleric alignments = CG, CN, NG }} Character and Reputation Lliira (leer-ah) is the perpetually moving maiden of countless ballads, the archetypal dancing ingenue that has inspired poets, songwriters, and any who revel in the experience and wonderment of a life lived gaily and free. Somewhat detached from the everyday events of the mundane world, Lliira speaks to her most devoted adherents in dreams, showing by example that most slights are not worth worrying about, and that few troubles are important enough to draw one away from the Elysian Rigadoon, a philosophy that places joyful movement above all other concerns. Clergy and Temples Lliira’s clerics (known as joybringers) range from inattentive flirts to deviant hedonists. All are good-hearted, and value revelry above all else. Theirs is an aerobic devotion, and Lliirans are appreciated throughout Faerun as some of the most physically toned individuals around. Their temples raise monies by hosting grand galas and then spend these monies in seemingly chaotic fashion, perhaps to beautify this or that public place, or to throw a surprise party for a dour lord. Among the easy going of civilized lands, joybringers of Lliira find patronage and encouragement, and are among the most popular clerics in Faerun. In darker lands, or in harsh, uncivilized regions in which frivolity can lead to death from the elements or government, their religion is zealously suppressed. Curious to a fault, this only encourages the Lliirans to seek out such locales, hoping to provide happiness and joy with the step of a jolly jog or the lilting trill of a beautiful song. Joybringers rejoice at the coming of dawn (among just about everything else) and pray to the Mistress of the Revels upon the birth of each morning. Nearly every single holiday not tied to the worship or some malign being is a cause for celebration. The most holy celebrations begin with Swords Cast Down, a ritual in which two or more weapons are cast to the ground and buried under a mound of fresh flowers. Lliirans frequently multiclass as bards. History and Relations with other deities Lliira’s greatest friend in the Faerunian pantheon is the bard deity Milil, who shares her flare of performance. Once a great friend of the commerce goddess Waukeen, Lliira even went as far as to absorb many of the disaffected clerics of the Merchants’ Friend when that goddess vanished during the Time of Troubles. Upon her return, however, Waukeen jealously coveted those clerics who had converted to Lliiranism, and the resulting ill will has formed a sight rift between the former companions. The murder of Selgaunt’s High Revelmistress Chlanna Asjros (whom Lliira had taken as a lover while in mortal form during the Time of Troubles) by forces of a local cult of Loviatar has deeply affected the Joybringer. A militant order known as the scarlet mummers now tours Faerun with her support, dispatching agents of the Maiden of Pain by means of an elaborate and deadly dance utilizing the mummers’ blade boots. Dogma Each day is another movement in the Elysian Rigadoon, the joyful dance of a life lived in rapture and without care or frustration. Seek joy always by working to bestow it upon others. Festivals are for all--gather into celebrations the lost, the lonely, the exiled and outlaw, the shunned, and even your foes. Let folk follow their own desires, and never fail to follow your own. See Also * Forgotten Realms Wiki References Category:Deities Category:Lesser Deities Category:Deities for Neutral Good Category:Deities for Chaotic Good Category:Deities for Chaotic Neutral Category:Any Race Deities